TNB Tech Minute: SoftBank Doubles Down on OpenAI Investment

[00:00:03] Exchanges on rates, inflation, and U.S. recession risk. Exchanges on the market impact of AI.

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[00:00:31] Here's your TNB Tech Minute for Wednesday, November 27th. I'm Julie Chang for The Wall Street Journal.

[00:00:38] SoftBank Group is doubling down on its investment in OpenAI, the startup behind ChatGPT. The Japanese

[00:00:45] tech investment company is starting a tender offer to buy $1.5 billion of OpenAI shares from employees.

[00:00:52] That's according to a person familiar with the matter. The potential investment would be on top

[00:00:57] of the $500 million SoftBank invested when the AI startup raised $6.6 billion in a recent round of

[00:01:04] new funding. Current and former OpenAI employees will have until December 24th to decide whether

[00:01:11] to sell their shares. News Corp, owner of The Wall Street Journal, has a content licensing partnership

[00:01:16] with OpenAI. In a legal victory for crypto advocates, a federal appeals court has rejected

[00:01:22] the Treasury Department's sanctions on Tornado Cash. Tornado Cash is a so-called cryptocurrency mixing

[00:01:29] service that U.S. officials allege was used to launder funds stolen by North Korean hackers.

[00:01:35] A panel of judges found that the sanctions were in overreach of government authority. They cited with

[00:01:40] the crypto industry's argument that Tornado Cash's software was not owned by a foreign national or entity,

[00:01:47] and thereby not an appropriate target for sanctions. And e-commerce company Shopify is launching a

[00:01:54] dedicated effort to sign on more big businesses to its platform. Shopify helps companies manage their

[00:02:01] online storefronts, and its roster of so-called enterprise customers includes Reebok, Overstock,

[00:02:06] and Barnes & Noble. Some analysts say the move offers promises of steadier revenue and long-term

[00:02:12] stability than its typical smaller clients, but it comes at a higher cost since signing on bigger

[00:02:17] customers is more expensive and time-consuming. Shopify's revenue rose 30% to more than $7 billion

[00:02:24] in 2023, and according to analysts polled by FactSet, it's on pace to rise by 28% this year.

[00:02:32] We'll be off tomorrow for Thanksgiving, but check back on Friday for a new episode of Tech News Briefing.